Government has unveiled plans to hike up planning application fees by more than 150% in April 2005 in an attempt to raise more than £30 million to improve the planning system. Planning and housing minister Keith Hill announced the rise as part of a plan to “shake-up” the underperforming system, which has been consistently blamed for housing undersupply. “For many years the planning system has been underfunded, and while the massive cash boost we have given in the form of the planning delivery grant has helped, we still have a situation where the fees that councils can charge are far short of the costs of dealing with applications, especially the larger ones,” said Hill. “Any increase in fees must be accompanied by a raising of the bar when it comes to quality. We don’t expect people to pay more and get less.” <p></p><p>Consultation on the proposed changes, including the structure of the fee system, runs until December 6. For further information see <a href="http://www.odpm.gov.uk">www.odpm.gov.uk</a></p>